Getting There
by SamFanFirst
Summary: Extended Emma/Henry/MM scenes from "That Still Small Voice." More Emma/Henry/Mary Margaret goodness. One-shot.


**A/N: Wow. The feedback from my other two stories really surprised me. You all are fantastic! I really should be working on my Christmas fic or the next chapter to Admission: One, but tonight's episode skipped a scene that I would've loved to see. It is more Emma/Henry/Mary Margaret goodness. Did you really expect anything else? I'm extending the MM/Emma conversation and then going from there. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!**

**I don't own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters in this story.**

"Trust you? I take it you've been involved with a married man before?"

Mary Margaret really hoped that her shock wasn't coming across as judgment. The woman just couldn't fathom how someone Emma's age seemed to have lived through everything.

"Let's just say that my life has been one big crash course. I've lived and learned by trial and error. I guess that's what happens when the only female role models you have growing up are the lunch ladies at various schools."

You could say that Emma was still pretty bitter about her childhood. And hearing things like that made Mary Margaret's chest tighten with sorrow. Of course she felt bad for her friend, but why did she feel this gut-wrenching guilt whenever Emma spoke of her past? Why did she have to constantly fight the urge to grab her roommate and smother her with Band-Aids and kisses to make everything better?

"I can't imagine what it must have been like to grow up the way you did." That was all that the brunette could think to say that wouldn't sound ridiculous.

"It's done and over with. What about you? What was your childhood like?"

Good question.

"Ya know, I don't really remember much of my childhood. I guess I am just one of those people that blocks out memories or something. I assume that it was decent."

"Assume? Don't people normally only block stuff out when something traumatic happens? I'm no expert, but I have watched a lot of Law and Order: SVU in my time."

Emma wondered if she'd ever make it through a day in Storybrooke that didn't consist of some weird occurrence happening or someone saying something that didn't add up.

"I will think about it some more and get back to you." Mary Margaret didn't like to lie, but she also didn't like discussing her past…mostly because she couldn't remember anything but being a teacher.

But what the teacher didn't know was that Emma possessed a "super power" that saw right through the lie.

"Okay." That was all Emma managed to say as she grabbed a gooey marshmallow off of the end of her fork and pushed it into her mouth.

"You have a little something-"

Mary Margaret instinctively licked her thumb and reached across the counter to wipe the marshmallow from the blonde's cheek. She didn't even notice the look of bewilderment on Emma's face.

"Umm…" When Mary Margaret would cut the crust off of Emma's sandwiches, Emma would always chalk it up to the fact that it was probably a habit that her friend picked up from years of teaching. But this was just mortifying.

"Oh my! I'm terribly sorry! I have no idea what came over me. I-I just wasn't thinking and-"

A knock on the door filled the two severely uncomfortable women with relief as the woman closest to the door rushed across the apartment to see who it was.

As soon as the door was opened, both women immediately forgot about the awkward moment that had just occurred.

"What's wrong, kid?" Now it was Emma's turn to feel the chest tightening and gut-wrenching pain that accompanied seeing her kid in tears.

"Th-They're going to lock me away!"

Mary Margaret was the first to recover from the shock of his words.

"Who's going to lock you away? Sweetie, who told you such a thing?" The brunette put down her fork and made her way over towards the little boy.

"Archie! He said that if I don't stop this stuff, they're going to lock me away with other crazy people!" Henry was working his way up to complete hysteria.

Emma knew exactly who else Henry was referring to when he said "they." It was high time to head back to the mayor's office for the rest of that damn tree. But not before she paid a visit to the owner of the lips that uttered such a cruel threat to her kid.

"Henry, come here." Emma grabbed her son and pressed him to her as she wrapped her arms around his little body. He buried his face into her stomach and continued to cry and begged her not to let them take him.

"Listen to me, kid. Nobody, and I mean _nobody_, is going to lock you away. I promise you that. I'm not going to ever let anything happen to you. Period." _"I knew you were here to help me." "That's right kid, I am. And nothing, not even a curse, is going to change that." _

_Yeah, not a curse OR that despicable woman and her little minions, _Emma thought.

Henry finally looked up at her with red swollen eyes and sniffled, "You promise?"

"I promise." This was a promise that Emma would give her life to keep.

"Pinky promise?" The little boy balled up his hand and stuck out his little pinky finger and waited for his mother to do the same.

Emma sighed and then smiled at her son's innocence.

"Pinky promise." She copied what Henry did with his hand and intertwined her pinky with his little one and shook their hands up and down three times for good measure. Mary Margaret stood two steps away watching the whole interaction with a sad smile on her face.

"Mary Margaret, could you stay with Henry while I go take care of something? I will be back to pick him up shortly. I just really need to go do this."

The brunette knew exactly what her friend was going to do. She smiled at the little boy while replying to her roommate. "Of course! I'd be more than happy to spoil this little guy with marshmallows, hot chocolate, cake, and TV!"

Emma smiled at the woman and then bent down to address her son once more before leaving.

"Everything is going to be alright. Be good." She then kissed him on the forehead and winked in his direction before walking out the door.

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"So, Henry, would you like a toasted marshmallow? I've been told that I make a pretty mean s'more!" Mary Margaret said that with much more enthusiasm than she felt. Right now her heart was too busy breaking to feel any happy emotions.

"No thanks Miss Blanchard. I'm not really very hungry right now. Do you mind if we just watch some TV?" Henry had felt sick to his stomach courtesy of all the crying.

"Sure thing! What would you like to watch?" The teacher flipped through the channels until she caught sight of a familiar yellow sponge.

"SpongeBob Squarepants, SpongeBob Squarepants, Sponge-Bob Squarepantssss…doo-da-da-doo doo-doo doo-doo." Mary Margaret sang the end of the popular theme song of Henry's favorite show. She finally succeeded in getting a giggle out of him.

"So, what'd you think? Did I nail it this time?" She and Henry sang it every time they watched it together and he always giggles and claims that she doesn't get it right.

"Not quite. But you're getting there. We're getting there." Henry looked up at her and smiled his innocent smile as he laid his head back on the couch. Mary Margaret smiled back because she knew that he was talking about more than just her rendition of the theme song.

**A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I really hope it was worth reading! I decided to share my favorite TV cartoon with Henry lol. Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to my other stories. Hope you all had a great weekend!**

**~MB**


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